MPD Suspends Contract With Anti-Gay Psychologist

The Minneapolis Police Department has suspended the use of a screening psychologist, Michael Campion, after his position on the board of the Illinois Family Institute came to light.

Minneapolis Deputy Police Chief Don Harris said it was only within the past week that they became aware of Campion’s association with the Illinois Family Institute, a nonprofit group that says it advocates for religious freedom and opposes gay marriage, civil rights protection for gays, abortion and embryonic stem cell research. 

Campion is a partner in a company called Campion, Barrow and Associates, which according to CityPages also ran into problems with the Illinois chapter of the NAACP, after two candidates for the Springfield, IL Fire Department claimed that Campion was biased in his psychological sceenings. 

Campion’s leadership at the Illinois Famliy Institute raises a red flag. The Illinois Family Institute advocates “ex-gay” therapy, a harmful process that uses a Christian-based immersion to compel gays and lesbians to suppress their physical attraction to members of the same-sex. It’s been deemed harmful by virtually every psychological and social science association, and many people that have tried the process have spoken out against the harm it causes. That Campion was a leader on IFI’s board should be cause for alarm, especially since the City of Minneapolis has a non-discrimination statute that includes sexual orientation.